Water Pollution

Did you know that the water we use today is the same water the dinosaurs used? We cannot create new water. For millions of years, the water we have has been used again and again. We have been able to do this because there are natural cycles that clean the water each time we use it.

People are polluting our water. Businesses and cities dump chemicals and waste products into our rivers, lakes and oceans. People throw trash–furniture, garbage, old tires, cars, old fencing, anything they can think of–into the water. People also pollute the water by accident, by allowing their cars to leak oil and gas onto the ground. That oil and gas eventually washes into the water during rain storms and when people clean their driveways off with water.

The acid rain caused by pollution poisons water on the surface of the earth. Beneath the earth are layers of dirt and rock that act as containers for water. We call them aquifers. Rainwater drains through the soil into the aquifers. We call the water in the aquifer ground water. Groundwater supplies wells and springs. It is a very important source of water for all the plants and animals.

Acid rain soaks into the soil. Like clean rainwater, it drains down into the aquifer through layers of rock that clean the water. However, the acid eats away at much of the rock and does not allow it to filter properly, so when it reaches the groundwater, the acid rain pollutes it. It becomes unusable.